The Motorcycle: Design, Art, Desire - 2016 Max Hazan Motorworks ‘The Black Knight’

Arguably one of the most original creators in the modern custom motorcycle scene, Max Hazan is a builder whose bikes are closer to sculpture than engineering in most instances. And one of his most artistic two-wheel creations is now on show at The Motorcycle: Design, Art, Desire, in Brisbane.

Looking like some sort of land speed record bike from the distant past, Hazan’s ‘The Black Knight’ is based on a 1949 BSA 500cc single-cylinder engine, but virtually everything attached to it was built from scratch.

Standout styling features include the fully-enclosed rear wheel, bespoke girder fork front end and a glass oil tank, to name a few. Interestingly, the use of Pyrex heat-treated glass for that tank was settled on only after brass and aluminium tanks were made, which Hazan found to be unsuitable.

Similarly, the faired-in rear wheel took several attempts before Hazan was happy with the result. Aside from the outer final drive, that rear guard also includes a strip of LEDs subtly incorporated into the design.

Despite appearances to the contrary, this bike is a running, rideable machine, and was built specifically for Bobby Haas. The Black Knight is one of more than 200 bikes in Haas’s Texas museum, thirteen of which have been brought out for the Brisbane exhibition.

Now open at Brisbane’s Gallery of Modern Art (GOMA), The Motorcycle: Design, Art, Desire runs to 26 April, 2021. To purchase tickets, go to: qagoma.qtix.com.au

For more information, including Christmas/New Year opening times and details on GOMA’s COVID-SAFE plan, go to: qagoma.qld.gov.au

Source: Bobby Haas and the Haas Moto Museum

Photo: Grant Schwingle